Human trafficking cases ‘may rise’ after OFW ban
Thursday, November 3, 2011
MANILA — A member of the House committee on labor and employment warned of an increase in human trafficking cases after the government announced the deployment ban of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) to 41 countries.
“Should this go on for a long term, I foresee that we shall have a drastic rise in human trafficking because the demand for Filipino labor is dictated by market forces,” Ako Bicol party-list Representative Rodel Batocabe said in a text message.
The Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA) on Wednesday adopted the recommendation of the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) to stop the deployment of OFWs to countries that lack laws to protect their rights.
The 41 countries include Afghanistan, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Cambodia, Cayman Islands, Chad, Croatia, Cuba, North Korea, Dominica, East Timor/Timor Leste, Eritrea, Haiti, India, Iraq, Kyrgyztan, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Mali, Mauritania, Montenegro, Mozambique, Nauru, Nepal, Niger, Pakistan, Palestine, Serbia, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sudan, Swaziland, Tajikstan, Tonga, Turks and Caicos, Tuvalu, US Virgin Islands, Vanuatu, and Zimbabwe.
Batocabe said the government should have categorized the countries that lack protective measures for migrant Filipino workers first instead of immediately banning the deployment to these countries.
Only those with serious violations should be banned, he said.
The deployment ban decision was made to comply with the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act or Republic Act (RA) 10022, which only allows the government to send Filipinos to “countries where the rights of Filipino migrant workers are protected.”
“This is a very drastic move by our government but I would like to believe that this is just on a short-term basis designed to strengthen the leverage of our government in negotiating for better terms and security for our workers in these countries,” Batocabe said.
Aurora Representative Juan Edgardo “Sonny” Angara, also a member of the House panel, said the DFA should already start looking into the possibility of bilateral agreements for migrant worker protection.
“This (deployment ban) may hurt some of our OFWs in the short term by causing some dislocation, though it is ultimately for their benefit,” he said in a text message.
Akbayan party-list Representative Walden Bello, chairman of the House committee on overseas workers affairs, earlier said that his committee approved to defer the implementation of RA 10022 until April 2012.
He clarified, however, that the committee report approving such move still needs to be ratified when Congress resumes session on November 14.
“We are not shutting the door to any host country but paving the way to reach a bilateral agreement and strengthening the diplomatic ties between the Philippines and the host countries. We do not want to antagonize them,” DFA Ambassador Vic Lecaros told members of the committee in a recent hearing.
Meanwhile, despite the ban, OFWs will still be allowed to apply to countries with companies and contractors with international operations as provided by the Amended Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995.
Citing the data of the POEA, deputy presidential spokesperson Abigail Valte said 22 of the 41 countries have corporations with international operations.
These countries include Afghanistan (telecommunications and engineering, and construction companies maintaining US and United Nations bases); Bahamas (hotels); Barbados (hotels); Cayman Islands (hotels); Chad (construction companies); Cuba (contractors maintaining US bases); East Timor (oil and gas companies); Eritrea (construction); Haiti (construction); India (construction, hotels); and Iraq (contractors maintaining US military bases, construction, telecommunications, engineering).
Countries found to have international employers are Lebanon (hotels and restaurants); Lesotho (construction); Libya (oil and gas, hotels, health and education, construction); Mali (construction, oil and gas); Mauritania (construction); Mozambique (construction); Pakistan (construction); Sudan (construction, oil and gas); Swaziland (construction); Turks and Caicos (hotels, construction); and US Virgin Islands (hotels).
The number of OFWs deployed in companies with international operations in these non-compliant countries reached 18,851 in 2009 and 21,432 in 2010, the Department of Labor and Employment (Dole) said in a statement released Wednesday.
“As an important pillar of the Philippine economy, part of our commitment to migrant workers includes expanding economic opportunities while ensuring their safety wherever they may be in the world,” Valte said.
Since the government’s assessment of these 41 countries is continuing, they could be removed from the list of deployment ban once they met the Philippines’ labor standards.
“If the Department of Foreign Affairs certifies that they are exerting efforts to comply with our standards, the governing board of the POEA could remove them from the list of deployment ban,” Valte said.
Meanwhile, OFWs working in the countries without companies with international operations will only be allowed to finish their contract.
These countries are Antigua, Croatia, Kyrgystan, Montenegro, Nauru, Nepal, Serbia, St. Kitts, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Tajikistan, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Zimbabwe.
POEA data showed that total OFW deployment to these countries reached only 229 in 2009 and 179 in 2010.
Labor Secretary Rosalinda Baldoz said the POEA would stop processing and deployment of newly hired workers to the 41 countries by the middle of November. (Kathrina Alvarez/Jill Beltran/AMN/Sunnex)
Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2011/11/03/human-trafficking-cases-may-rise-after-ofw-ban-188633
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